One thing brought into sharp focus during the Covid-19 pandemic is the idea of a flexible work schedule – a hybrid model sitting between the traditional 9 to 5 and work from home. Like elsewhere in the world, Covid-19 has accelerated the change towards hybrid work in the EMEA region. According to a recent Colliers report, "employers are navigating how remote working can make up part of their workplace strategy - decades of change have been squeezed into months."
Ensuring teams remain committed and inspired during hybrid work arrangements
Research suggests that we create social capital when we network and bond face to face. Organizations are hubs of social and work activity — and these bonds are what sustain company culture. According to Forbes, "For staff accustomed to close physical proximity, colleague deprivation is real. The physical distance of working remotely erects a sensory barrier."
Today, businesses of all sizes are rethinking their strategy to adapt to a new era of company culture and morale-building with the understanding that hybrid work models are likely here to stay, well beyond the days of this current pandemic. The initial scramble to adjust might have been painful, but companies are now facing the hard truth that many roles do not require team members to work from the office, and those that do, can often get away with a hybrid schedule.
New methods of maintaining company culture are circulating among those embracing this change, and for many employees, it is a welcome revolution in the modern workplace.
Leaders stepping up: Remote teams need affirmation and engagement, and this is best achieved from the top-down. Many C-level leaders are going the extra mile during hybrid work to communicate clearly and regularly with messages of affirmation and positivity. They acknowledge the challenges of working in a pandemic and continue to encourage and motivate their teams.
Takeaway: If you're a leader, be proactive about communicating with your teams. Remain positive without downplaying the challenges.
Involving Human Resources: HR teams could be the unsung heroes of the pandemic. Apart from the usual procedural day-to-day, they've had to ensure organizational culture translates over distance. They've also devised new ways of understanding productivity and participation. The best companies didn't treat the lockdown as a hiatus, but instead, they went out of their way to keep employees engaged, informed, and productive. A skilled and committed HR team is an incredible asset in this regard.
Takeaway: HR is the glue keeping your company together. Appreciate their role and the important work they do in your company's success.
IT Keeping Us Connected: Productivity and engagement may be the buzzwords of this subject, but both of these elements need the right technological backbone. For some, the lockdown was an acceleration of digital transformation. For others, it was a head-first dive into new communication territory. In either scenario, an empowered IT team with senior leadership backing made all the difference, laying the foundation of critical communication channels keeping businesses running.
Takeaway: Empower IT to implement the tools that bring teams, leadership, and clients together.
Self-paced Learning & Development: An interesting idea emerging from lockdown is the adjusted format of Learning & Development. With people freed from the 9 to 5, there's increased flexibility towards professional development at one's own pace. Some firms have created structured, online learning opportunities that encourage employees to engage based on their individual needs. Others went a step further and made e-learning part of their KPIs. Keeping employees engaged in personalized learning models is an important way of building connectivity and a shared company vision.
Takeaway: Flexible learning and development is an efficient, productive method of engaging teams during hybrid work.
As hybrid work continues to evolve, the most successful companies will lean into the change with creative solutions and collaborative attitudes towards team morale and company culture. How is your company engaging? If you are a leader, what are you doing to foster this change and support your teams?